(SAVANNAH, GA) Treasure Maps: The Georgia Storytelling Roadshow a pop-up, interactive, drive-in theater that will include live local hosts, installations, and safe interactive activities will be holding a free event in Savannah on Friday, June 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Old Roberds Dairy Farm located at 2500 Tennessee Avenue. Attendees can register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/treasure-maps-the-georgia-storytelling-roadshow-savannah-night-tickets-156031367019?utm_source=eventbrite&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=post_publish&utm_content=shortLinkNewEmail
Each show will feature the film screening of Treasure Maps, a collection of 10 Georgia Storytellers’ Life Maps which provide an up-close and personal viewpoint on navigating life as a person with a developmental disability. Guyton resident and Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society board Vice President Michael E. Holton, Jr. will be featured as one of the ten storytellers from across Georgia.
In the event of inclement weather, the event will switch to an online format.
The Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society will be participating in this event in partnership with the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, L’Arche Atlanta, StoryMuse, and Resurgens Impact Counseling.
This project aims to bring the community together while observing current safety and social distancing practices in light of the current pandemic. It will also shed light on the current issue sitting before Georgia State Senate and Congress regarding the years-long Medicaid waiver waitlist. Currently, members of the disabled community are unable to obtain crucial services without access to the funding.
Shannon M. Turner, creative director of the project, says “We want to provide a virtual stage for the important stories of people with developmental disabilities, inviting their stories in from the margins to the center of our communities. But an equally important component is to provide education and advocacy to the general population and legislators around the Medicaid waiver, a vital funding structure which supports the lives of people with developmental disabilities so they can live independently.”
Each show will be produced in collaboration with local community members and will be co-hosted by a storyteller (the “Show Marshal”); a local community member; and a Treasure Maps team member. The show will run approximately an hour and a half and will include interaction with the co-hosts and an invitation to direct advocacy action. The tour will also be making stops in Dahlonega, Athens, Macon, Columbus, and Atlanta.
ABOUT THE GEORGIA COUNCIL OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (GCDD) STORYTELLING PROJECT
In 2018 and 2019, the Georgia Council of Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) teamed up with talented writers and photographers who set out across the state to collect some great stories about people with developmental disabilities to create The Storytelling Project. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Storytelling Project responded with season two of the podcast Hidden Voices focusing on the experience of social distancing. Their Over the Wire video project collected and dispersed stories virtually. In 2021 they introduced Treasure Maps: The Georgia Storytelling Roadshow, a pop-up, interactive, drive-in theatre production. Learn more here: https://story-collection.gcdd.org/the-gcdd-storytelling-project
ABOUT THE LOWCOUNTRY DOWN SYNDROME SOCIETY
The Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society (LDSS) supports people with Down syndrome and their families through local leadership, support, outreach, education and advocacy. Meetings are held every fourth Tuesday of the month, typically with a guest speaker and social time for families to meet and interact online. LDSS is an affiliate of the National Down Syndrome Society. For more information about LDSS, visit ldssga.org
CONTACT
Shannon M. Turner
Founder/Creative Director, StoryMuse
smtstories@gmail.com
CONTACT
John Bogardus
Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society
jbogardus@ldssga.org
MEDIA CONTACT
Marjorie Young
Carriage Trade Public Relations® Inc.
912-844-9990
marjorie@carriagetradepr.com